


A Heart Holding Giraffe

by One_Small_Writer



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, Stuffed Toys, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29531718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/One_Small_Writer/pseuds/One_Small_Writer
Summary: Steve gets Natasha a stuffed giraffe for Valentine's Day as a method to confess his feelings for her.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 3
Kudos: 62





	A Heart Holding Giraffe

**Author's Note:**

> I'm begging you, do not question the title.  
> Also, this is four days late but time is fleeting.  
> Also, also, this was inspired by the giraffe stuffed animal I saw in Woolies.

Steve really didn’t know what he was doing buying Natasha a Valentine’s Day present.

Firstly, the present was cheesy. Of course it was cheesy, it came from a grocery store the week of February fourteenth, everything in the entire place was cheesy. But this, this was really cheesy.

A stuffed giraffe holding a heart that said ‘I Love You’ with a rose in its mouth. It was one of the cheesiest things Steve had ever seen, but he knew Natasha like giraffes and the message it held was exactly what he wanted to get across. He loved her, and the giraffe said that. It was simple. They liked simple.

Secondly, and most importantly, he wasn’t sure what washed over him to make him think that confessing to Natasha his major, very long term crush on her, was a good idea, especially on Valentine’s Day of all days. She may like giraffes, but she didn’t like Valentine’s Day. She thought it was tacky, something created by florists and card companies. Telling her he loved her on Valentine’s Day was probably a very bad idea, and there was a very high chance she’d kill him for doing so.

Which was exactly why he was telling her through a giraffe and a note.

He figured he’d the day was an excuse though. At least if it was Valentine’s Day, there was a chance he wouldn’t look like as much of an idiot as he was already going to, at least in the other’s minds. Most people get away with confessing their feelings to a crush on Valentine’s Day without trouble and sometimes even with success, it was _the_ day for romance after all, so why couldn’t he?

Well, because the person he’s in love with is Natasha Romanoff, but that’s beside the point.

He spent hours the night before pondering over the rights words to use, wanting to make it special and romantic but not over the top. There was so much he wanted to say about her, wanted to say to her, so much that he could probably write a book, but he wasn’t about to say that all now. If all went well, he had the rest of their lives to tell her everything he wanted to say, he needed to save somethings.

Some of it was also downright embarrassing. And he didn’t her hearing until he knew she felt the same.

What he ended up (eventually) writing was pretty simple, but he felt like it conveyed exactly what he wanted to say. Tying the note around the neck of the giraffe with the ribbon he stole from Pepper, he left it on the desk and went to bed, anxiously awaiting the day to come.

The next day, straight after training when he saw Natasha retreat back to her room, he made his move. He grabbed the giraffe off his desk and kissed it for luck before going up to her floor, placing it gently on the ground. 

He looked down at it for a few moments, taking a few deep breaths before knocking on the door and making a beeline in the other direction, hoping she wouldn’t get to the door fast enough to catch him. There was no way he could be there when she opened it.

Going as fast as he could without making too much noise, he swiftly rounded the corner and leant against the wall, letting out a breath. He just hoped it’d all go well.

On the other side of the door, Natasha’s ears perked up at the sound of the knock. She was pretty much in her own world, unwinding after training by attempting to bake a cake (The box mix was cheap, what could she say?) and was jamming to whatever was first to come on when she pressed shuffle. She certainly wasn't expecting a knock at the door.

Putting down the whisk, she went and opened the door, only to find no one there. She looked up and down the hall, letting out an annoyed huff when she saw no one. Probably just Clint being an idiot again. It was only when she spotted the toy on the floor that she paused.

Picking it up, she flipped the note and immediately recognised the handwriting. She smiled, tucking it under her arm before sticking her head out the door again. "Steve?" She called, looking back and forth down the hall, returning back to her room when she couldn't see any trace of him.

She leant against the door and inspected the giraffe, smiling at the little heart. She didn’t want to think too much into it, she never thought too much into anything Steve did when it came to her (She could never tell if he was flirting or if he was just being Steve), but she really did hope that this was him finally making move. She would’ve done it herself if not for the crippling fear of scaring him off and losing him. It was Valentine’s Day after all, and even if she didn’t like it, Steve seemed like the kind of person who would like it and do something cheesy like leave a stuffed giraffe at someone’s door.

And maybe, if this was Steve finally making a move, she could learn to like Valentine’s Day. Maybe.

She untied the note from around the giraffe’s neck and flipped it over again, tracing Steve’s handwriting lightly. His handwriting was so neat and careful, cursive print slightly slanted to the side. What she read on the note, though, made her heart positively pound.

_Hi Nat,_

_I don’t really know what to say here, but I’ve been trying to put words down for hours and I just need to get it out._

_I like you. A lot. In fact, I’m in love with you. And I really hope you feel the same way because if you don’t I’m going to feel like a total idiot._

_You are the most beautiful person in the world, and I admire everything about you. You’re a total badass, and you’re so strong and smart and caring and there are so many other words I could use to describe who you are but if I did that we’d be here all day. Just know I’ll probably tell you it all anyway. One day._

_And I know you probably think I’m a total wuss for not doing this to your face, but it seemed like the easiest, least nerve-wracking way to do this. I may be pretty tough as Captain America, but Steve Rogers isn’t exactly the bravest when it comes to love._

_Especially because he’s in love with his best friend._

_P.S For now the giraffe's name is Fred, but you can change that if you want. It's your giraffe._

_Love, Steve. xx_

Natasha stared at the note, mouth agape and heart pounding in her ears. Even if she did hope it would be Steve making amove, she never, ever expected those hopes to come true. 

With a blush on her cheeks and a wide smile on her face, she pinned the note on her board and put the giraffe on the couch. She needed to tell him how she felt, needed to tell him that the feelings were reciprocated. She needed a plan.

Steve didn’t end up seeing Natasha again until dinner. And when he did, he was pretty sure he stopped breathing. He’d been in a panic since leaving his gift at her door, freaked because he hadn’t seen her since training. Convinced he’d screwed up royally, he gave in to his fate of being crucified eventually and losing her totally, but then he saw her and all that flew away.

She looked around the room as if looking for something before her eyes snapped to his, and he puffed a breath. She smiled at him, a good sign, and he gave her an awkward wave.

“Hey,” Natasha said quietly, sliding into the spot next to him at the table. Her eyes were sparkling, her cheeks tinted pink.

Steve’s heart lurched, and he smiled at her, unsure of himself. “Hi.”

Not saying anything, Natasha leant over and pecked his cheek. “Thank you,” She whispered, her breath hot against his ear.

“No problem,” Steve laughed nervously.

“I feel the same,” She said simply, not knowing how else to put it. She too wanted to say a lot more, say things like Steve had written to her, but she wasn't about to do that at the table in front of everyone else.

Steve stopped breathing again, and he turned to her in shock. “Really?”

Natasha nodded. “Of course I do. Meet me at my room after?”

Steve nodded, and they smiled at each other, lost in their own world until Tony interrupted. “Hey, you two, knock it off. It’s time for dinner.”

Steve laughed and Natasha flipped him off, and under the table, slid her hand into Steve’s.

**Author's Note:**

> This was low key a crack fic.


End file.
